


"What are your intentions with my son?"

by Blood and Weetabix (melchiorstiefel)



Series: Skam Coming Out Shorts [2]
Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Coming Out, Date Night, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Pansexual Even Bech Næsheim, Sort Of, Turns out I had some things to work out about Eskild, anyway all's well that ends well I promise, kollektiv, look I just threw stuff at the wall and saw what stuck, pansexuality, this one is a little... heavier than the last one.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26579197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melchiorstiefel/pseuds/Blood%20and%20Weetabix
Summary: “What are your intentions with my son?”This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening.He was just sitting there, leaning forward, with his hands clasped in his lap, and staring intently at Even, clearly awaiting an answer.In which Even gets grilled, everyone teases Isak (again), Eskild learns a lesson, and Even comes out.
Relationships: Background Even Bech Næsheim & Noora Amalie Sætre, Background Even Bech Næsheim & Sana Bakkoush, Eskild Tryggvason & Isak Valtersen, Eskild Tryggvason & Noora Amalie Sætre, Even Bech Næsheim & Eskild Tryggvason, Even Bech Næsheim/Isak Valtersen
Series: Skam Coming Out Shorts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932394
Comments: 4
Kudos: 75





	"What are your intentions with my son?"

**Author's Note:**

> I'm kinda nervous about this one. I think there's something in here that people aren't going to like, but I feel like it's necessary.

“What are your intentions with my son?”

_This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening._

He was just sitting there, leaning forward, with his hands clasped in his lap, and staring intently at Even, clearly awaiting an answer.

And Even was sitting in his boyfriend’s living room, being grilled about his _intentions_?! This was too much.

“Well, I…” Even began, before Isak’s voice carried through from his bedroom.

“Eskild, I can _hear_ you. And I am NOT your son. Stop terrorising Even.”

Eskild huffed a sigh and sat up straighter on the couch. “You never let me have my fun, Isak. Anyway, You are my son, I adopted you. I even gave you the standard period to object, and I didn’t hear any.”

“Okay, mum.” Isak sighed, and Even smirked at the audible eyeroll.

“My intentions?” Even smirked. “Well, Mr. Tryggvason, I was thinking I might blow him until he can’t think straight.”

“I can never think straight anyway.” Isak said as he closed his bedroom door and stepped into the living room, maybe flexing a little and leaning against the doorframe to show off his tight-fitting jeans and short-sleeve shirt to his boyfriend. So sue him. He’s in a relationship. People in relationships show off a little to their partners. 

As Even took in the scene before him, clearly happy about what he saw, the living room fell into a comfortable silence.

Which, naturally, was broken by Eskild.

“Did my baby just make a _gay joke_?!”

Isak tensed slightly. “Wait, what?”

Eskild’s smile turned fonder by the second and now this really was getting to feel too much like being teased by a parent.

“You did, Issy. You made a gay joke.”

“N.. No, I was just saying…”

“That you’re not straight. That’s a gay joke.”

Even laughed as Eskild pulled Isak into a hug, and watched as Isak relaxed into it, despite the repeated eyerolls and shrieks of “Eskild, get off me.”

“I’m so proud! My baby!”

Once Isak’s feet were firmly planted on the ground again, and Eskild had stepped back a little, the smile still firmly on his face, Even decided now was the time to betray his boyfriend.

“Yeah, that was definitely a gay joke, babe.”

Isak rolled his eyes and said an exaggerated “Oh-kay.”

“See, I’m sure Even is a connoisseur of a good gay joke,” Eskild began.

“I’m not sure I’d say…”

“Come on, you must have at least one. You two have been together properly for at least a month now, plenty of time for a gay joke or two.”

Isak and Even fell into an awkward silence at Eskild’s insistent gaze, until his expression sobered a little a few seconds later.

“Oh come on, I’m only kidding. Not everyone needs to be a sparkling wit like me and Issy here.”

“Eskild,” Even began calmly. “How long do you think I’ve been out?”

“Well… I assume it’s when you got together with Isak.”

In the ensuing quiet, Isak moved to the sofa next to Even, and reached out to clasp his hands.

“What, guys?” Eskild laughed nervously. “I’m sorry, I’m a bit lost here.”

“I’m not gay, Eskild,”

“Oh, okay. I mean, that’s fine, you don’t have to label yourself right now, I totally get that.”

“Eskild,” Isak said warningly. “Just listen, please.”

Eskild mimed zipping and locking his lips, and fixed his gaze back on Even.

“I’m pansexual. I’ve been out for around a year.”

“Oh, I… I’m sorry, Even, I… guess I jumped to conclusions.”

“Hey, it’s okay.”

“No, don’t, Even.” Eskild said. “Look, I’m sorry.” He reached in for an awkward hug. “Have a good date, you two, I’m going to go… back to my room, I think.”

The second he heard Eskild’s door close, Even deflated against Isak, and felt Isak’s lips press against his temple.

“Hey. I don’t think he’s mad. I don’t think he’s upset or anything. I think he just feels like a complete idiot right now.” Isak spoke softly into his hair.

Even nodded.

“I know. I think. It’s just that you expect that coming out to another… Well, you just expect it’ll always go fine.”

They sat there for a couple more minutes, just relaxing into the seat, when Even stood up and reached for his boyfriend’s hand.

“Come on. We’ll be late.”

* * *

When Noora got home that night, she was surprised to find the living room quiet. Sure, people in the flat had lives outside the Kollektiv (even Linn, to Noora’s surprise, has a standing appointment on Thursdays), but _no-one_ goes out on a Tuesday night.

She tentatively knocked on Eskild’s door, before entering to find him on his bed, glasses on, staring absently at his laptop.

“Where is everyone?” She asked, filing away whatever is going on with Eskild for the second round of questioning. “The flat’s so quiet right now.”

“Linn says she’s gone out to the shops, but I think she might actually be meeting up with someone. She’s been gone quite a while.”

“Hey, well, good for her, at least.”

“Yeah. And the world’s cutest couple are out on a date. I’m surprised you didn’t slip on a puddle of drool in the hallway. Even was practically eating Isak with his eyes.”

“Gross,” Noora replied mildly. “But how about you? I expected you’d be halfway through a pint of ice-cream watching whatever trashy TV you recorded this weekend.”

Eskild sighed and pushed the laptop away.

“That was the plan, my dear. You know how incredibly flexible I am? I can fit my foot behind my head and still have room to move it.”

“I know. I still want to remind you that I didn’t ask for a demonstration.”

“Well, it turns out I can also fit my foot into my mouth. Quite deep in fact.”

“... Is this some kink thing you’re trying to slip into our conversation, or are you actually trying to make a weird metaphor?”

“I asked Even when he came out as gay.”

“Ah, and Even told you he’s not gay. Yeah, you had that coming.”

Eskild winced. “Thanks for sugar-coating it, babe. How did you know he wasn’t gay?”

Noora moved to sit on the bed, next to Eskild, and tilted her head in thought.

“I mean, you never really saw him with Sonja. I only saw bits and pieces. They were breaking down, sure, but it was real still. There was a connection. Oh, and Sana and I took Even to the New Year’s market when Isak was out of town and he was bored out of his mind. Sounds like there’s some history there, but Even is a very open person for the most part, so we got some… details we really didn’t want.”

Eskild sighed. “I just feel like an idiot. I said some… things to Isak last year, and obviously he remembers because he didn’t seem surprised at all. That kid’s been out for forty seconds, he’s already teaching me stuff.”

“The guru becomes the student.”

“I’m just embarrassed.”

Noora glanced at Eskild appraisingly. “I hate to break it to you, Eskild. You need to get over it, and make amends. Even doesn’t have a vindictive bone in his body,” she started.

“But if I don’t make it right now, I know how much that hurt can fester. Yeah.”

“Yeah,” she shrugged.

“... Thanks, Noora.” Eskild reached over and pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

* * *

When Even wakes up in the morning, it feels like it takes him a solid five minutes to extract himself from Isak’s arms and get out of the room. Even may be taller than Isak, but Isak is all limbs. If Even even _thinks_ of calling Isak a ‘cuddler’ to his friends, though, he might lose those cuddling privileges.

And he so wishes he could stay in bed with Isak, but he skipped his meds last night. He really needs to make sure he takes this dose.

The voice in the back of his head betrays him with a “ _You already skipped one dose, and that went fine. Why do you need to take this one?_ ” but Even is trying to be better at managing his health. Too much hurt lies down that path.

He stumbles out into the hallway, and rifles through his coat pockets for his meds before slipping into the kitchen for a glass of water.

He turns around and leans against the counter once the glass and the pills are out on the counter, and rests his head on the cupboard, just as Eskild come into the room.

“Halla,” Eskild says tentatively, and Even almost laughs. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard Eskild sounding less than 98% enthusiastic about anything.

Still, he likes Eskild, and doesn’t want to freeze him out. He’s not even mad, not really. So he returns a soft nod and a “Halla” of his own.

“Did you guys have a good date?” Eskild asks, pulling out a chair to rest his leg on as he sits on the table.

Even smiles sleepily. “Isak spent the entire meal worrying about how much money I had and whether he was allowed to get a dessert or if that’d be too much. Like I was going to stop him if he ordered the caviar with gold leaf and a 1000 kr. Sundae.”

“Well, you gotta make sure your man gets treated right.”

Eskild clears his throat.

“Look, Even. About yesterday,” he starts.

“Dude, don’t worry about it,” Even says, turning back towards the counter and popping out his pills. “I can’t blame you for thinking I’m gay.”

“No, Even, you can. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I’ve been doing that a lot, really. I spent quite a while gently pushing Isak to tell me. And sure, that worked out okay for him, but I think I let it go to my head.”

“Hey, you were there for him. You were what he needed.”

“And I want to be there for you, too, Even.” Eskild sighs. “I really am sorry. Isak asked for all kinds of advice last year, most of it about you… And I think I let some of the things I say get into my head. When you came out, I think I got embarrassed about the terrible advice I gave him.”

Even throws the pills into his mouth and chases them with the glass of water. He busies himself washing the glass and resting it next to the sink before he turns back around.

“What kind of advice?” Even smirks.

“He was asking for advice about this guy he liked who had a girlfriend. He wanted to know what the chances were that the guy would leave the girlfriend to be with him.”

“And you told him that the chances were low?”

“I’ve seen so many closeted guys who have long-term girlfriends and are sleeping with dudes on the side. I’ve been that other guy more times that I want to count.”

“Hey, you were just looking out for him. You’re a good friend, Eskild.”

Eskild smiles softly. “I want to be a good friend to you, too, Even. Thank you for coming out to me. Of course it’s great that you’re pan. Amazing, in fact. And I’m happy for you.”

“I need to get back to bed. I’ve got a boy waiting for me,” Even smirks. “Thanks, Eskild. And hey, I forgive you.”

Eskild nods, as Even claps a hand on his shoulder while passing by.

“Oh, Even?” Eskild calls out as Even disappears around the corner.

“Yes, Eskild?” Even’s face pops in through the doorway.

“I’m gay.” Eskild smiles.

Even laughs.

“Thank you for telling me,” he winks, as he backs away into Isak’s room.

**Author's Note:**

> I dunno, did I lean too far into it? I just think the casually bi/pan-phobic comments Eskild made in S3 got glossed over, and it made sense in the context of the show, but it also seemed illuminating on parts of Eskild's worldview.
> 
> Also, I really wanted to explore the fact that not every coming out, even to an LGBTQ+ person, is a wholly positive interaction.
> 
> Oh, and I imagine that "foot-in-mouth syndrome" isn't actually a metaphor that carries over into Norwegian, but I had the "flexible" idea and had to run with it :P
> 
> And yeah, I think my Eskild voice in this is a bit all over the place. My Even I think is... fine enough for the context.
> 
> Oh, and I know the tense changes for the final scene, but I think it's what worked the best for it.
> 
> As suggested in a comment by Isakistheone on my last fic, my next one in this series might be an ACTUAL meeting-the-parents thing. They requested Isak coming out to his mother, face-to-face. I'll add it to the list, anyway, but I might go for some comic relief on the next one :P
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr [@belleandkurtbastian](https://belleandkurtbastian.tumblr.com/ask) or comment on this fic with suggestions for other entries, or just general comments.


End file.
